Stocking



(No Model.)

F. LASHER.

STOCKING.

No. 271,338. Patented Jan. 30, 1883.

WITNESSES: INVENTOR:

this stocking will facilitate a clear understand- UNITED STATES FRANKLASHER, OF BENNINGTON, VERMONT.

PATENT OFFICE.

STOCKING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 271,338, dated January30, 1883.

' Application filed May 31,1882. (No model.)

This invention relates to the formation of the heels of stockingsproduced by continuous tubular knitting.

The nature ofthe invention is apparent from the accompanying drawing,which illustrates a detached section of a stocking, including the heel,with a small portion of the leg and foot.

As a description of the process of making ing of its structure, I willpremise by saying that the leg is knitin tubular form on a cylindermachine, such knitting progressing down to the line 0 at b of thedrawing. Atthis stage the knitting on the needles of the front half of the leg over the upper instep, on the line a b, to a point on the otherside opposite a is suspended, while' knitting on the rear halfcontinues. From the line a c to a point opposite a the formation of theback of the heel commences, and proceeds by narrowing, leaving one(ortwo, if necessary) needle out of action at the end of each course, oneach side of the foot, until a limited number of courses-say three orfour, as the case may require-have been run in, as between 0 a and d 1'.Then a shorter supplemental course of stitches, d r, which does nottraverse thewhole breadth of the rear heel part from the diagonal seamline a o to its companion line on the opposite side of the heel, butlacks two or three stitches (more or less) of meeting such seam-lines,is run in. Thenext subsequent range ofstitohes is knit clear across theheel,or from seam-line plemental courses at r, e s, f t, g u, and h oarerun in at regularly recurring intervals of some definite number ofcourses until the apex of the heel at 0 m is reached. From this point,by the converse process, of widening and introducing, in the wayhereinbefore described,

the supplemental courses of stitches 'i c, j u, k t, ls, and m r, thesole portion a as n of the heel is produced. after which knitting on allthe needles is resumed, and the foot of the stocking is formed in theusual way.

The number and length of the supplemental courses and the extent ofinterval between them may be regulated by the operator to suit thecharacter of yarn used and the shape of heel desired.

Stockings have heretofore been knit having a gore or wedge-shaped pieceknit in between the terminus ofthe leg proper and the top of the heelproperin order to obtain greater fullness and more room at the heel, aswell as to' secure a more natural andsymmetrical shape to the heel; butobjections lie to this mode of construction, as all the surplus clothknit in for purposes of enlargement is inserted above the top of theheel, thereby, as it were, crowding the heel down and leaving thefullness desired up around the ankle, where it is not needed, andleaving the heel itself to be drawn into shape as best it may be by thewearer. By my improved method this extra. material is inserted anddistributed throughout the heel on both sides of the diagonal seam-lineequally, thus leaving the apex of the heel in its true natural position,where it should be, and avoiding all unsymmetrical pouches or swells inthe fabric, resulting from fulling all the supplemental yarn orcloth inat one place.

Hence I claim- As a new article of manufacture, a tubular knit stockinghaving the leg and foot por tions of ordinary form and the back and soleparts of the heel of'narrowed and widened triangularly-shaped sections,respectively, and united on a diagonal line on each side of the heel, asshown, said back and sole sections of the heel having knit in atrecurrent intervals throughout their longitudinal extent supple-

